Wiregrass Museum of Art to celebrate Youth Art Month 2017 in March

Matt Boster

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Posted by: Matt Boster
Date: Feb 15 2017 7:39 AM

DOTHAN: The Wiregrass Museum of Art (WMA) is pleased to announce the opening of the 2017 Youth Art Month exhibition on March 1. For more than 20 years, WMA has served as the Wiregrass region's host for Youth Art Month, an event held annually in March in schools, museums, and other organizations around the country to promote youth art and art education. Locally, the month-long observance includes a juried exhibition of art by K-12 students from the Wiregrass area, as well as Out of the (Art) Box), WMA's own installation competition for high school groups. An opening reception for the exhibition will be held on Wednesday, March 1, from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. It is open to the public and will include the announcement of several awards, including the 2nd Congressional Art Competition.

The Congressional Art Competition, also known as the Artistic Discovery Contest, is an opportunity to recognize and encourage artistic talent in students from every congressional district across the nation, including our own 2nd Congressional District. This competition is open to all high school juniors and seniors and is coordinated through the offices of U.S. Representative Martha Roby. The winning piece from Alabama- District 2 will be displayed for one year in the United States Capitol alongside artwork from other nationwide contest winners. All winning pieces from each congressional district will also be considered for selection as the National Congressional Art Competition winner.

Other awards given during the opening reception will include the Wiregrass Museum of Art Award, the Youth Art Month Award, the Houston County Award, and the City of Dothan Award. The selected artwork will be displayed at various locations around Dothan for one year after the close of the Youth Art Month exhibition on March 31.

Out of the (Art) Box is an innovative variation on WMA's popular public installation competition from years past. Four teams of high school students (grades 9 - 12) will be paired with artist mentors to create original installations in the Museum's galleries. This year, students will be challenged to completely transform their building material, disclosed to them only on the first day of the competition, and think outside of the "(art) box" to create their work. The installations will be designed and constructed by the teams with the guidance of their mentors from February 24 through 25 and displayed in the Entrance Galleries and Main Gallery of the Museum during the month of March. The winning team, selected by a judge, will receive a donation to their school's visual arts program.

This year's Out of the (Art) Box participating teams represent Early County High School (Georgia), Enterprise High School, Northview High School (Dothan), and Rehobeth High School. The Youth Art Month exhibition will include artwork from 100 students from area schools including public, private, and home schools.

All Youth Art Month award winners will receive recognition during a Dothan City Commission meeting held on March 7, 2017. Dothan Mayor Mike Schmitz will also read a proclamation announcing March to be Youth Art Month in the City of Dothan.

After the opening reception on the evening of March 1, the Youth Art Month exhibition will run through March 31. WMA's galleries are open to the public every Wednesday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Private tours and activities can be arranged by appointment on Mondays and Tuesdays. General admission is free.

Youth Art Month is generously sponsored by Publix Super Markets Charities and Dothan Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics - Dr. Flowers and Dr. Crowder. Additional support is provided by the Support the Arts License Tag Fund and the Coleman Foundation.

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